Let’s Know Who We Are in God’s Sight  

Last weekend we participated in a baby shower for our son and his wife as they look forward to the arrival of their first child in the near future. In the midst of opening their baby gifts, they graciously paused for a moment in order to present their own gifts to the two sets of grandparents who were there. Ours was a wonderful little plaque that reads, “Our greatest blessings call us Nana & Papaw”. It’s true. I’ve come to discover that grandchildren are one of the greatest blessings in our lives. And I’ve gladly embraced my title of Papaw and the relationship it suggests. I’m looking forward to having our seventh such blessing call me by that name.

As blessed as we are to have grandchildren, there is an even greater source of blessing in our lives. Without Him, we wouldn’t possess any of the other joys and blessedness which we experience, including those wonderful grandchildren. We owe everything to our Lord and our God. So that plaque started me thinking about what our Ultimate Blessing in life calls me, along with what He calls any of us who have a saving relationship with Him.

He calls us “child”, having adopted us into His family. He calls us His “bride” and His “beloved”, indicating a love relationship and a commitment of faithfulness similar to that between a husband and wife. He calls us “friend”, indicating the unusual level of familiarity and kinship we can have with the Almighty Creator of the universe. He calls us “heirs” and “joint heirs” with Christ, reminding us of the marvelous riches that are ours both now and in eternity. He calls us “forgiven”, pointing to the glorious provision Jesus made for us by dying on the cross in order to wash away our sins. It’s often helpful for us to remember who we are in God’s sight. When Satan fights against us and this world tries to demean us, it can encourage us to focus on our position and privilege in Christ. Let’s remember what God calls us. Know who you are in Him.

However, we should also recognize the responsibility that accompanies those titles God gives to us. What He calls us not only points out our current status, but it also reveals God’s purpose for us to which we should be aspiring and progressing. Those titles of child, bride, and friend not only indicate how God feels about us, but should also point to the wholehearted love and devotion we have for Him in return. He calls us “holy”, not only pointing to how He views us in light of Christ’s righteousness on our behalf, but also the purity, separateness from sin, and consecration of ourselves to Him that He expects from us. He calls us “kings and priests” or a “royal priesthood”, challenging us to fulfill that role in this world while we’re here. It’s not just an honorary title. We should be representing our Lord on this earth and continuing the work He began when He was here in the flesh. We have His authority and should be boldly proclaiming His Word. We should also be praying for His will to be done on earth and interceding for a lost world.

I enjoy the privileges of being called Papaw. However, I also remind myself of the responsibility that goes with it to be a loving, positive, godly influence on those grandchildren. Likewise, we can bask in the wonder and assurance that comes with the titles God gives those who know Him. Yet at the same time we need to be living up to everything those names suggest.

What does the Lord call you?  Believe it, claim it, and live like it.

 

Get Out of Your Comfortable Rocking Chair and Go  

Recently I stepped out of my comfort zone to begin a podcast. It’s basically an audio version of my one-year daily devotional book. This wasn’t something I had aspired to do. It was simply the direction the Lord seemed to be leading as another way to get His message out to more people. Maybe there are those who won’t take the time to read a book but who might listen to a little four-minute devotional each day as they take a walk, drive to work, or go about their other activities. I’ll admit that I knew very little about podcasts, especially about how to produce one. Thankfully there is plenty of assistance available on the internet to guide people like me. If you’re interested in this free devotional, check out “Everyday Encounters with the Lord” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or other apps that support podcasts.

How long has it been since you’ve gotten out of your comfort zone in order to follow the Lord’s leading, especially in some effort to reach out to others? It’s so easy to get stuck in our familiar routines. It’s hard to get out of the ruts, or even to stir up our desire to want to get out of those well-worn paths to which we’ve become so accustomed. When we’ve grown comfortable where we are, it’s difficult to get ourselves moving again. However I believe if we’re attentive, we would often hear the voice of the Lord encouraging us to step out in order to share His Word and show His love to others.

Peter was definitely challenged to exit his comfort zone when the Lord led him to share the gospel with some Gentiles (see Acts 10). In order to help him overcome his prejudices, the Lord had to give him an extra jolt with the combination of a disturbing vision, some special visitors, and a divine command to accompany them. Yet Peter’s obedience opened a great door which led to many coming into the kingdom of God.

Too many of us are like Barney Fife in the old Andy Griffith Show. He sat all relaxed on the front porch in a rocking chair talking about his plans to go down to the drugstore, get a bottle of pop, and go over to Thelma Lou’s (his girlfriend) to watch a little TV. Yet he kept sitting there. Every few seconds he would repeat his intentions to do those activities, but then continue to sit there rocking away. You got the impression that he would’ve never moved if someone hadn’t finally confronted him and encouraged him to go do what he said he was going to do. 

What does the Lord have to do in order to shake us out of our ruts and get us going? We tend to talk a good game or verbalize well-meaning intentions. We sit in our homes and talk about our plans to reach out to our neighbors. We sit in church and talk about the importance of sharing the gospel and doing deeds of kindness in the name of Jesus. We talk about dreams of starting some kind of new ministry. Nevertheless all too often we just keep sitting there in our comfortable rocking chairs instead of getting up and taking action.

Maybe the Lord has impressed on your heart some individual to reach out to with a card, a phone call, a visit, or some act of kindness. Or maybe he’s leading you to start a Bible study, a food ministry, or even a podcast. If the Lord is telling us to go, let’s make ourselves get up out of our comfort zones and get moving.  

 

Dealing with the Weeds in Our Lives  

We recently had a spring work day at our church property where some of our members came together to mow grass, trim bushes, and generally get the grounds looking nicer. One of the main projects involved dealing with a prominent area in front of the building and along the steps where shrubbery grows. It badly needed weeding, along with a fresh covering of pine straw. It always proves to be a constant, difficult job throughout the growing season to remove pesky weeds that keep popping up through the ground-covering in that spot. If left alone, the undesirable vegetation would quickly overrun the whole area. Therefore we decided to take an extra preventative step prior to spreading the pine straw this time by laying down some material underneath which should hinder the growth of weeds. I guess we’ll find out how successful it is as time goes by.

 Do you ever get tired of having to deal with the unwanted outcroppings in your life? You know they don’t belong in the landscape of a believer, but they keep popping up on an all-too-regular basis. It’s not like there aren’t blooming flowers of Christlikeness in your life. Through your faith in the Lord and the presence of the Holy Spirit working in you, you do exhibit some of those good qualities and actions which should characterize a true follower of Jesus. However, the weeds keep coming too – another outburst of temper, more harsh words, giving in to the temptation to lust again, another plunge into worry and hopelessness, another lie, or countless other spiritual intruders. All too often their presence gets in the way, overshadows the godly aspects of your life, and distracts from your mission.

 In one sense, we will always be battling weeds in this life. Satan will try to plant seeds of temptation to hinder us and choke out the fruit of the Spirit springing forth from our relationship with Jesus. We will continually need to “put to death the deeds of the body” (Romans 8:13) and “put off the old man with his deeds” (Colossians 3:8-9). Nevertheless, wouldn’t it be even better to keep the weeds from showing up in the first place? Instead of having to constantly be pulling them up after they’ve burst forth and caused a problem, is there some way to keep so many from taking root and coming to the surface?

   Maybe that’s the problem. We tend to deal with what’s on the surface when we need to look deeper. The Bible indicates that our words and actions spring forth from whatever is going on in our innermost being – in our hearts and minds. The weeds in our lives don’t just pop up out of nowhere. They have often taken root in our desires, our thoughts, and our attitudes. Instead of just pulling weeds, maybe we need to ask our Master Gardener to do some work in the soil of our hearts. He can take away some of those wrong desires that pull us off track, instead instilling in us a greater desire to do what’s right and to please Him. He can give us such love for Himself and for others that it will overshadow our affection for those lesser things that tempt us. He can renew our minds as we focus less on other things and more on Him and His Word.

Don’t just keep pulling weeds. Go deeper. Where is your heart? What do you love most? What are you thinking about? How does your attitude need to change? Let’s allow the Lord to get underneath the surface in our lives and deal with the real issues.  

 

Jesus’ Resurrection Defies Natural Explanations  

My granddaughter received a couple of pet rabbits for her birthday earlier this year. In order to avoid any multiplication of these creatures, the family was assured that they were in possession of two males of the species. Therefore it was quite a surprise when newborn bunnies were recently discovered in the hutch – just in time for Easter. At the news of this occurrence, no one jumped to the conclusion that there had been some kind of miraculous conception. No, it was determined that a mistake had been made and one of those pets was actually a female, apparently an easy error to make when dealing with young rabbits.

I find it interesting that when news of Jesus’ empty tomb became known, almost no one initially took it to be the result of some kind of miracle or resurrection. It’s reassuring to realize that most people looked toward a natural explanation as their first tendency. Certainly that wouldn’t have been the case if this was all some concocted plan to try to make it appear as if Jesus had risen when He hadn’t. Those disciples and other witnesses only became convinced as the evidence mounted and eventually became undeniable that Jesus had truly risen from the grave.

 When Mary Magdalene saw the empty tomb she broke down in tears. Her comments to the angels who appeared on the scene as well as to Jesus Himself before she recognized Him expressed her belief that someone had removed the body. When the women told the disciples about the tomb being empty, their words were met with disbelief. Peter and John ran to the tomb to see the evidence for themselves. Even as Jesus began to appear to various individuals, there were still doubts raised, and not just by Thomas who has become infamous for his hesitancy to accept the reality of what had happened. Many were slow to believe that something miraculous had occurred. However, as the resurrected Jesus appeared and the number of eye-witnesses grew, it became clear that there had been a divinely-powered resurrection from the dead.

People today still have a hard time believing in the reality of the resurrection of Jesus. And that’s understandable. We tend to gravitate toward natural explanations unless we have good reason to think otherwise. However, in this case there is plenty of reason to accept the truth we celebrate here at Easter. There is a tomb which is still empty. There are eye-witnesses, not just a few, and not only individual sightings – but even hundreds who all saw the resurrected Jesus at the same time. The evidence discounts all the theories about Jesus not having really died, or the women going to the wrong tomb, or the disciples stealing the body. In addition to everything else, it’s hard to imagine these group of followers being so dedicated to a lie or deception that they would all hold firm to it, even giving their lives in behalf of some false narrative. When the evidence is viewed, it all points to the unique event of a resurrection.

What we’re commemorating here at Easter isn’t merely some allegory about new life or some religious fairy tale. It isn’t just a story someone made up after the fact in order to make Jesus appear to be greater than He was. It’s a real, historical event. There is more reason to believe in the resurrection of Jesus than to believe in many other facts of history which we readily accept.

Sometimes events do defy natural explanations. God does do the miraculous. Maybe we didn’t see it for ourselves, but others did. “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20:29). He is risen!